Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Population Dynamics of the Endangered, Long-Lived Perennial Species, Ligularia sibirica

  • Published:
Folia Geobotanica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ligularia sibirica is a relict wetland perennial plant species of the Czech and Slovak Republic. Explaining variation in population growth rate and identifying the causes of that variation is important for effective protection of such an endangered species. Matrix models based on four years of data of 11 populations were used to identify the pattern of variation in the demographic vital rates of this species, and to examine the causes of the variation such as population size and habitat type. Further, the matrix model was used to determine the population growth rate, longevity and risk of extinction of each population and to identify the specific vital rates that most affect population growth rate. The results showed that population growth rates were significantly different between years and populations. Temporal variation was mostly due to variable survival of adult individuals, while spatial variation was mainly driven by fertility of one small currently expanding population. Further, most studied populations of L. sibirica are performing well and only those growing in nitrogen-rich habitats have a high extinction risk. The results also indicate that all populations have low adult mortality, long-lived individuals (61.3 years on average) and some populations also show features of remnant populations (i.e., the persistence of populations in severe conditions in spite of no reproduction). Our results imply that detailed demographic data are needed to understand the long-term prospects of these populations. These data may serve as an early warning system for this species long before an obvious decline occurs in the populations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ågren J, Ehrlén J, Solbreck C (2008) Spatio-temporal variation in fruit production and seed predation in a perennial herb influenced by habitat quality and population size. J Ecol 96:334–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez-Buylla ER, Slatkin M (1994) Finding confidence limits on population growth rates: three real examples revised. Ecology 75:255–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baskin CC, Baskin JM (1998) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Brussard PF (1991) The role of ecology in biological conservation. Ecol Applications 1:6–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caswell H (2001) Matrix population models, construction, analysis, and interpretation. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland

    Google Scholar 

  • Český hydrometeorologický ústav (2010) Informace o klimatu v České republice. Průměrný úhrn srážek a teplot v letech 2005–2008 ve srovnání s dlouhodobým normálem z let 1961–1990. (Information about the climate in the Czech Republic. Mean values of precipitation and temperature in the years 2005–2008 compared with the long-term average from the years 1961–1990). Available at: http://old.chmi.cz/meteo/ok/infklim.html, accessed 25 November 2010

  • Cochran ME, Ellner S (1992) Simple methods for calculating age-based life history parameters for stage-structured populations. Ecol Monogr 62:345–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colling G, Matthies D (2006) Effects of habitat deterioration on population dynamics and extinction risk of an endangered, long-lived perennial herb (Scorzonera humilis). J Ecol 94:959–972

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colling G, Matthies D, Reckinger C (2002) Population structure and establishment of the threatened long-lived perennial Scorzonera humilis in relation to environment. J Appl Ecol 39:310–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Council of European Communities (1992) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. Off J Eur Communities 35:7–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawley MJ (1989) Insect herbivores and plant population dynamics. Annual Rev Entomol 34:531–564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J (2009) Linking environmental variation to population dynamic of a forest herb. J Ecol 97:666–674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Kroon H, van Groenendael J, Ehrlén J (2000) Elasticities: a review of methods and model limitations. Ecology 81:607–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diekmann M (2003) Species indicator values as an important tool in applied plant ecology – a review. Basic Appl Ecol 4:493–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doust LL (1981) Population dynamics and local specialization in a clonal perennial (Ranunculus repens): I. The dynamics of ramets in contrasting habitats. J Ecol 69:743–755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Efron B, Tibshirani RJ (1994) Introduction to the bootstrap. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlén J (1995) Demography of the perennial herb Lathyrus vernus. II. Herbivory and population dynamics. J Ecol 83:297–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlén J (1996) Spatiotemporal variation in predispersal seed predation intensity. Oecologia 108:708–713

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlén J, Lehtilä K (2002) How perennial are perennial plants? Oikos 98:308–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellenberg H, Weber HE, Düll R, Wirth V, Werner W, Paulißen D (1992) Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa, Ed. 2. Scripta Geobot 18:1–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Emery S M, Gross K L (2005) Effects of timing of prescribed fire on the demography of an invasive plant, spotted knapweed Centaurea maculosa. J Appl Ecol 42:60–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O (1996) Regional dynamics of plants: a review of evidence for remnant, source-sink and metapopulations. Oikos 77:248–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O (2000) Functional roles of remnant plant populations in communities and ecosystems. Global Ecol Biogeogr 9:443–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feráková V, Maglocký Š, Marhold K (2001) Červený zoznam papraďorastov a semenných rastlín Slovenska (december 2001) (Red list of ferns and flowering plants of Slovakia (December 2001)). In Baláž D, Marhold K, Urban P (eds) Červený zoznam rastlín a živočíchov Slovenska (Red list of plants and animals of Slovakia). Ochr Prír (Banská Bystrica) 20:48–81

  • Fréville H, Colas B, Riba M, Caswell H, Mignot A, Imbert E, Olivieri I (2004) Spatial and temporal demographic variability in the endemic plant species Centaurea corymbosa (Asteraceae). Ecology 85:694–703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García MB, (2003) Demographic viability of a relict population of the critically endangered plant Borderea chouardii. Conservation Biol 17:1672–1680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegi G (1929) Illustrierte Flora von Mittel-Europa, Band VI, Teil 2. Ed. 1. J. F. Lehmanns Verlag, München

  • Hegland SJ, Van Leeuwen M, Oostermeijer JGB (2001) Population structure of Salvia pratensis in relation to vegetation and management of Dutch dry floodplain grasslands. J Appl Ecol 38:1277–1289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrych R (2003) Poznatky o druhu Ligularia sibirica v Čechách (On the occurrence of Ligularia sibirica in Bohemia). Preslia 75:39–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins SI, Pickett STA, Bond WJ (2000) Predicting extinction risk for plants: environmental stochasticity can save declining populations. Trends Ecol Evol 15:516–520

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Käfer J, Witte MJP (2004) Cover-weighted averaging of indicator values in vegetation analyses. J Veg Sci 15:647–652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kottorová I, Lepš J (1999) Comparative ecology of seedling recruitment in an oligotrophic wet meadow. J Veg Sci 10:175–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kukk Ü (2003) The distribution of Ligularia sibirica (L.) Cass. in Estonia and changes in its population. Biul Ogrodów Bot 12:11–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehtilä K, Syrjänen K, Leimu R, Garcia MB, Ehrlén J (2006) Habitat change and demography of Primula veris: Identification of management targets. Conservation Biol 20:833–843

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lennartsson T, Oostermeijer JGB (2001) Demographic variation and population viability in Gentianella campestris: effects of grassland management and environmental stochasticity. J Ecol 89:451–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindborg R, Ehrlén J (2002) Evaluating the extinction risk of a perennial herb: demographic data versus historical records. Conservation Biol 16:683–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matlab (2006) Matlab version 7.3.0.267. Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA

  • Menges ES (2000) Population viability analyses in plants: challenges and opportunities. Trends Ecol Evol 15:51–56

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Münzbergová Z (2005) Determinants of species rarity: population growth rates of species sharing the same habitat. Amer J Bot 92:1987–1994

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Münzbergová Z. (2006) Effect of population size on prospect of species survival. Folia Geobot 41:137–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Münzbergová Z (2007) Population dynamics of diploid and hexaploid populations of a perennial herb. Ann Bot (Oxford) 100:1259–1270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Münzbergová Z, Ehrlén J (2005) How best to collect demographic data for population viability analysis models. J Appl Ecol 42:1115–1120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oostermeijer JGB, Luijten SH, den Nijs JCM (2003) Integrating demographic and genetic approaches in plant conservation. Biol Conservation 113:389–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oostermeijer JGB, Van’t Veer R, den Nijs JCM (1994) Population structure of the rare, long-lived perennial Gentiana pneumonanthe in relation to vegetation and management in the Netherlands. J Appl Ecol 31:428–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oostermeijer JGB, Brugman ML, De Boer ER, den Nijs HCM (1996) Temporal and spatial variation in the demography of Gentiana pneumonanthe, a rare perennial herb. J Ecol 84:153–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oostermeijer JGB, Luijten SH, Křenová ZV, den Nijs JCM (1998) Relationship between population and habitat characteristics and reproduction of the rare Gentiana pneumonanthe L. Conservation Biol 12:1042–1053

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Östergård H, Ehrlén J (2005) Among population variation in specialist and generalist seed predation – the importance of host plant distribution alternative hosts and environmental variation. Oikos 111:39–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Overbeck G, Kiehl K, Abs C (2003) Seedling recruitment of Succisella inflexa in fen meadows: Importance of seed and microsite availability. Appl Veg Sci 6:97–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Primack RB (2002) Essentials of conservation biology. Ed. 3. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland

  • Procházka F (ed) (2001) Černý a červený seznam cévnatých rostlin České republiky (stav v roce 2000) (Black and Red List of Vascular Plants of the Czech Republic – 2000). Příroda, Praha 18:1–166

  • Reed JM, Mills LS, Dunning JB, Menges ES, McKelvey KS, Frye R, Beissinger SR, Anstett MCH, Miller P (2002) Emerging issues in population viability analysis. Conservation Biol 16:7–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rydin H, Jeglum J (2006) The biology of peatlands. Oxford University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schaffers AP, Sýkora KV (2000) Reliability of Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, nitrogen and soil reaction: a comparison with field measurements. J Veg Sci 11:225–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schemske DW, Husband BC, Ruckelhaus MH, Goodwillie C, Parker IM, Bishop JG (1994) Evaluating approaches to conservation of rare and endangered plants. Ecology 75:584–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schopp-Guth A, Maas D, Pfadenhauer J (1994) Influence of management on the seed production and seed bank of calcareous fen species. J Veg Sci 5:569–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shefferson RP (2009) The evolutionary ecology of vegetative dormancy in mature herbaceous perennial plants. J Ecol 97:1000–1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J, Franco M (1993) Plant demography and habitat: a comparative approach. Pl Spec Biol 8:67–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J, Franco M, Menges E (1996) Interpretation of elasticity matrices as an aid to the management of plant populations for conservation. Conservation Biol 10:591–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slavík B (2004) Ligularia Cass. In Slavík B, Štěpánková J (eds) Květena České republiky, Vol. 7 (Flora of the Czech Republic, Vol. 7). Academia, Praha, pp 306–309

  • Sletvold N, Rydgren K (2007) Population dynamics in Digitalis purpurea: the interaction of disturbance and seed bank dynamics. J Ecol 95:1346–1359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slovenský hydrometeorologický ústav (2010) Informačný systém monitoringu životného prostredia. Čiastkový monitorovací systém (Information system for evironmental monitoring. Partial monitoring system). Available at: http://www.shmu.sk/sk/?page=21, accessed 25 November 2010

  • S-Plus (2000) Professional edition for Windows, release 2. (1999). MathSoft, Inc., Massachusetts

  • Šmídová A (2006) Popelivka sibiřská (Ligularia sibirica) na Jestřebských slatinách (Ligularia sibirica on wetlands in Jestřebí). Severočeskou Přír 38:11–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Šmídová A (2009) Studie faktorů ovlivňující dynamiku druhu Ligularia sibirica na Slovensku (Study of factors influencing population dynamics of plant species Ligularia sibirica in Slovakia). Prír Nízkych Tatier (Banská Bystrica) 2:55–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Šmídová A, Münzbergová Z, Plačková I (2011) Genetic diversity of a relict plant species, Ligularia sibirica (L.) Cass. (Asteraceae). Flora 206:151–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K, Grime JP (1979) Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. J Ecol 67:893–921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomimatsu H, Massashi O (2010) Demographic response of plant populations to habitat fragmentation and temporal environmental variability. Oecologia 162:903–911

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vergeer PV, Rengelink R, Copal A, Ouborg NJ (2003) The interacting effects of genetic variation, habitat quality and population size in performance of Succisa pratensis. J Ecol 91:18–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the workers in the protected areas of the Czech and Slovak Republic in which L. sibirica occurs for providing us with information about the localities. We obtained permission from the Ministries of the Environment of the Czech and Slovak Republic to enter the localities of this species’ populations, and to manipulate with the species. This study was supported by grant MŠMT 2B06178 and also partly by MŠMT 0021620828 and AV0Z60050516.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Zámek 1, C2-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic

    Anna Heinken-Šmídová & Zuzana Münzbergová

  2. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 11, C2-783 71, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Anna Heinken-Šmídová

  3. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benátská 2, C2-128 01, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Zuzana Münzbergová

Authors
  1. Anna Heinken-Šmídová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zuzana Münzbergová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Heinken-Šmídová.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(PDF 141 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Heinken-Šmídová, A., Münzbergová, Z. Population Dynamics of the Endangered, Long-Lived Perennial Species, Ligularia sibirica . Folia Geobot 47, 193–214 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-011-9116-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-011-9116-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation